The problem with cross-species comparisons is that it is very much
task-dependent.
There are tasks that dolphins perform better than humans, and pigeons
perform better than dolphins.
Within species, Tryon's maze-bright and maze-dull rats turned out to
exhibit undifferentiable levels of performance on lever-pressing tasks.
At 9:01 AM -0500 4/10/00, Stuart Mckelvie wrote:
>Dear Colleagues,
>
>As Paul Brandon points out, the term "IQ" applies to a test score. In
>principle, any person or animal can be given a test and compared to
>others via norms, so a derived score (percentile, standard score)
>could be computed.
>
>To my knowledge, this has not been done systematically, although
>various authors have produced tests, with average scores mentioned
>(e.g., Coon, K. (1976). Dog Intelligence Test, Dog, inc. Baton Rouge,
>Indiana) and Stanley Coren has written quite extensively on dogs.
>
>There is a history of the study of intelligence processes in animals,
>however. Kohler's work with chimps is famous, and there is a plethora
>of studies of animal behaviour and cognition. Many stem from the
>work of Hunter in 1913, who used the delayed response method of
>testing memory (see Hebb's description in his textbook of
>psychology). There is plenty evidence from tests like this that
>intelligence (and, according to Hebb, emotionality) increases as we
>ascend the phylogenetic scale.
>
>So: IQ in animals? If we wanted to, we could quantify intelligence
>in the way that we do with humans, but I do not think that it has
>been done in this way. Perhaps individual difference have not been so
>important inthe study animal as in human behaviour. Or, unlike Binet
>in Paris, perhaps we have not wished to deal with the practical
>problem of animals who are failing in school.......
* PAUL K. BRANDON [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* Psychology Dept Minnesota State University, Mankato *
* 23 Armstrong Hall, Mankato, MN 56001 ph 507-389-6217 *
* http://www.mankato.msus.edu/dept/psych/welcome.html *
